Tom Ze - s/t (1972) LP

Label: Tres Selos

After a few "strategic mistakes" in his career, Tom Zé found a new home at Continental label. It was there that he made four albums for the remaining of the 1970s, beginning with this self-titled one (aka Se O Caso É Chorar. When this LP was released in 1972, Tom Zé had a relentless interest in the unexplored, in experiments, and in the unusual. These songs revealed a more mature Tom Zé, addressing social issues, outdated concepts, false traditions, and the hypocrisy from Brazil's military government. The original press release warned: "1972 marks the beginning of a new phase in Tom Zé's career. He decided to move into simpler forms of writing and released an album that is a result of that." Tom Zé is considered the most "paulista" of all tropicalistas. He came from Bahia, but his wry urban poetry, infused with the uncomfortable sounds of the largest metropolis of South America, is pure São Paulo. This reissue includes unseen photos, new testimonials from Tom Zé himself and a lengthy article by author Bento Araujo.